Coach Keel gives a motivational speech to players during the JV game.

Football coach Michael Keel sits at his desk during the school day, not dreaming about football but about the masterpiece he wants to cook that evening. From brisket to jambalaya, Coach Keel enjoys making all kinds of food.

“I don’t like to bake because baking is very step by step. You can’t vary except for the decorations,” Coach Keel said. “With cooking, it’s a release for me.”

Coach Keel teaches economics, AP US history and coaches soccer and football. He says he thinks of himself as one of the few football coaches that loves soccer as much as football. And when teaching in the classroom, he tries hard to break the typical coaches-aren’t-good-teachers stereotype.

“I’ve been teaching and coaching for 13 years now,” Coach Keel said. “I still love it.”

Coach Keel taught for 11 years before coming to Legacy. Tim Kilgore told him about a Legacy job opening. He gave a quick call to Coach Chris Melson and “everything fell into place.” He and his wife, made the four-and-a-half-hour journey to Mansfield, along with his two children, Cooper and Kaitly.

“It’s tough leaving home,” Coach Keel said. “It was hard not having a support system here.”

When he came to Mansfield, he left behind his mother, Jeannie Haseman and his uncle, Danny Covington. Although he’s far from home, he still finds occasions to visit his uncle.

“I’ve always traveled with him,” Coach Keel said. “I got my love of cooking and fishing from my uncle Danny.”

This summer he and his uncle went to Louisiana on a fishing trip. They spent all day on the lake and caught 50 speckled trout, flounder and redfish, and they got to spend quality time together in the kitchen as well. They fried the fish, baked them and ate fish tacos. When asked if he cooked as well as his uncle, Coach Keel denied it.

“I would hope to cook like him one day,” he said. “I’m not there yet; he is an amazing cook.”